Chapter 283: "Mr. Lynch" Is Miranda Lancaster

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: "Mr. Lynch" Is Miranda Lancaster

Nathaniel hummed in acknowledgment. "She entrusted it to Mr. Lynch of the charity foundation, who then delivered it to me.

"She also left a portion of Sloan Group shares with Mr. Lynch, explicitly designating them for Estelle."

Mr. Lynch...

Old Mrs. Sloan naturally knew that ’Mr. Lynch’ was merely a codename, but she had no idea who the woman behind the first Mr. Lynch actually was. Hearing Nathaniel’s words, she was slightly surprised. To be entrusted with secrets and shares, this Mr. Lynch had to be Miranda’s closest, most trusted friend.

But as the person in the Sloan family who cared about Miranda the most, Old Mrs. Sloan had never seen her get close to anyone, male or female. So when exactly did this Mr. Lynch form such a bond with Miranda? With a secret like that and such a substantial amount of shares, it would be impossible to feel at ease leaving them with just anyone... Moreover, this Mr. Lynch was incredibly loyal, passing the secret to Nathaniel and leaving the shares to Estelle.

Estelle paused. "I have a thought."

Old Mrs. Sloan looked at her.

"In the diary my grandfather left behind, he mentioned Mr. Lynch," Estelle said calmly. "He and Mr. Lynch were friends. Since the Mr. Lynch he befriended wasn’t Nathaniel, it could only be the first Mr. Lynch."

That was indeed easy to understand. Old Mrs. Sloan furrowed her brows slightly. "And then?"

Estelle continued, "And then, Ms. Miranda Lancaster left Sloan Group shares to me. I have never met Ms. Lancaster, and my grandfather didn’t know her either. Why would she leave shares to me?

"Add to that the fact that Ms. Lancaster trusted Mr. Lynch so deeply, and Mr. Lynch passed away twenty years ago... Ms. Lancaster also passed away twenty years ago."

She paused before revealing her conclusion. "Could they have been the exact same person all along?"

Nathaniel’s head snapped up.

Old Mrs. Sloan pondered for a long while before accepting this speculation.

"Yes, if Mr. Lynch was Miranda, then everything makes sense... The Sloan family and the Lancaster family were always guarding against her and burned her belongings. She must have anticipated that from the very beginning!

"So, she had no choice but to use the identity of Mr. Lynch to transcend time and pass the message to Nathaniel.

"It’s also easy to understand why she didn’t tell Nathaniel that she was Mr. Lynch. We’re only just now connecting the two—it would have been even more impossible for the Lancaster and Sloan families to figure it out.

"Miranda... She did this to keep it a secret."

A wave of sorrow welled up in Old Mrs. Sloan’s heart. That child grew up in the cold, indifferent Lancaster family, suppressed by the mistress and her illegitimate daughter. She had a heartless father who used her to exchange for resources, and a selfish husband. Right up until her death, she hadn’t trusted a single soul. That was why she didn’t seek out Old Mrs. Sloan to pass on this message. Perhaps it was to protect Old Mrs. Sloan’s safety, or perhaps she simply had no faith in human nature. Regardless of the reason, it made Old Mrs. Sloan’s heart ache for her.

Old Mrs. Sloan kept the two of them for dinner before announcing that she needed to rest. Clearly, the revelation had struck her a heavy blow. Her heart twisted in agony at the thought that Miranda couldn’t find a single person to confide in before she passed away. Nathaniel did not insist on staying. He and Estelle took their leave from the estate.

The man stood at the entrance, gazing at the estate.

Estelle also looked up. "Old Mrs. Sloan said this was left behind by Ms. Lancaster. Even twenty or thirty years ago, an estate like this wouldn’t have been cheap. Where did Ms. Lancaster... get so much money?"

She had also founded a charity foundation. How could a poor woman, abandoned by both her family and her husband, establish a charity foundation and keep it hidden from everyone for so many years? Estelle couldn’t understand it.

It was getting late. Nathaniel drove them home.

The estate was in a somewhat remote location, and returning to Imperial Crest required traversing a winding mountain road. As darkness fell, sparse streetlights illuminated the mountain road. Estelle couldn’t shake the feeling that their surroundings were excessively quiet. She didn’t know if it was just her intuition, but her heart began to race, beating faster and faster.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror out of the corner of her eye. At some point, another car had started tailing them. The vehicle maintained a steady pace, sticking closely behind Nathaniel’s car. Estelle’s ominous premonition grew stronger by the second.

"Nathaniel, someone is following us!"

Nathaniel’s eyes were calm, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "I noticed. We’re on a mountain road, so shaking them off will be a bit troublesome."

Estelle was bewildered. The trailing car clearly had malicious intentions, but they hadn’t told anyone about their outing today. How did their pursuers know they had come to the estate, and how did they prepare in advance?

VROOM—

Suddenly, the car behind them abruptly accelerated! Nathaniel slammed his foot on the gas pedal, narrowly evading the rear-end collision. The car fishtailed as he swerved sharply onto another path.

"Estelle, get down!"

Nathaniel’s cold, stern voice rang out abruptly. Estelle’s body reacted faster than her brain, and she immediately ducked her head.

BANG—

A bullet pierced through the windshield. Estelle’s pupils contracted violently. Guns! They actually had guns!

"Don’t be afraid," Nathaniel said, steering the car to evade the attackers.

It was evident that these gunmen were targeting Estelle. Every single bullet was aimed at the passenger seat. Estelle realized it too. How strange. These people were hunting them down but didn’t seem intent on killing Nathaniel; instead, every shot was directed at her. Was it someone she had offended?

CRASH!

This time, it wasn’t a gunshot—it was a collision! On the narrow road, an oncoming car drove straight into them, slamming directly into Nathaniel’s vehicle!

Their car was instantly knocked off course. Nathaniel’s pupils shrank. "Get out!"

Estelle felt herself being shoved forcefully out of the car by Nathaniel. The man then shielded her beneath his body. With a loud BANG, sparks flew behind them. The gunmen wanted to kill Estelle, but because Nathaniel was shielding her so tightly, they couldn’t find an opening to strike. Right then, the driver of the car in front of them actually tried to ram into Nathaniel again!

Nathaniel pulled out a handgun. Using the cover to evade, he fired two quick shots—BANG, BANG—before leaning over to embrace Estelle. "Don’t be afraid."

Estelle was enveloped by his aura—clean, gentle, and carrying his unique masculine scent.

CRASH—

The vehicle rammed into them once more, and the cover behind them tottered dangerously! A trickle of blood escaped Nathaniel’s throat, but he remained resolute in protecting Estelle behind him.

They were completely surrounded by people. These attackers were split into two factions: those who wanted to kill her, and those who wanted to kill Nathaniel. They had no car now, leaving them completely cornered. Suddenly, Estelle felt the strength of the arms embracing her begin to weaken. Her heart leaped in alarm. "Nathaniel!"

She had already stealthily sent a message to Luke White, and Luke would arrive with backup very soon. If only Nathaniel could hold on a little longer...

Suddenly, Nathaniel’s vision plunged into pitch darkness. It was as if he had gone blind; he couldn’t see anything at all. Soon after, his sense of hearing began to fade as well.

He was very familiar with this sensation. In the past, when the Lancaster family had poisoned him, he had been saved by a young girl while fleeing for his life. Back then, his investigation revealed that his savior was Noelle. Since then, for many years, he hadn’t suffered another flare-up of the poison.